How Often Do You Clean Your Keezer?

[AlexKay]

It’s been about two years for me.

Blech.

Next question: how do you clean your keezer?

 

[FloppyKnockers]

Wow... That's gross. I clean mine about once a month.

 

[Tom R]

If my kegerator is dirty, I clean it. No matter what the calendar sez

 

[TestTickle]

Holy crap. I must be doing something wrong. Mine never looks anything like that.

 

[lumpher]

I wipe mine down with paper towels when I kick a keg, and do a good cleaning with a foaming spray every 3-4 months.

 

[Gus_13]

Not near enough but that's def worse than I've ever had mine haha. I do try to keep it wiped out when I swap kegs. I also have a couple fans that move air so it seems to keep everything relatively clean as long as I don't spill much in there.

 

[Yesfan]

I've had one almost get that bad. It's a pain in the ass to clean, especially if you don't have a drain. I've since sold my keezer. I just don't drink that much beer (had a 6 tapper) and staying on top of keeping it from looking like yours was enough for me to pull the plug and sell it and go with something a lot more simple.

 

[day_trippr]

Good lord that's disgusting. A power washer and shop vac might be your best bet

 

[AlexKay]

The collar's pretty tall, so I can't reach down to the bottom easily. I was able to remove all of the liquid plus the chunks of who-knows-what with a sponge mop. May repeat the mopping with bleach solution. Then going to build a new false bottom with new fans, so it'll be out of commission for a while. Luckily keezer #2 is still up and running.

 

[Beermeister32]

What’s with the hampster tube going down into the murk? You sure that’s beer?

 

[Redracer1205]

Soak up all the liquid with old rags. Wipe down with bleach solution or sanitizing spray.

Is the water from leaking lines or condensation?

 

[AlexKay]

What’s with the hampster tube going down into the murk? You sure that’s beer?

Tube was for air circulation; there’s a blower at the top. It never moves enough air, and I had two blowers die on me, so it’s out. New false bottom, new fans.

There was definitely condensation, though that alone doesn’t explain the (blech) color. I don’t think the lines were leaking, but a few dribbles each time a keg is switched might really add up.

Most of the murk was water, maybe , but I’m not sure what the more solid stuff was. Urgh. Maybe biofilm, maybe material sloughed off the old false bottom after making it stew in beer for too long. Let’s just say I washed my hands really well after cleaning that out.

 

[McMullan]

View attachment 757700

This is unacceptable behaviour. Points deducted! It’s easier (and less risky) to clean up mess when it happens. Letting it sit just helps to culture up populations of beer spoilage microbes. Nor does it just apply to keezers. Once clean and sanitised, make sure anything stored in there is clean and disconnect beer lines without making a mess. Use a clean rag, kitchen roll or something to catch any mess when swapping out kegs. You might find you won’t need to clean it as often as once every 2 years

Edit: a 12v dehumidifier keeps moisture level to a
minimum. Mines connected to the ‘heating’ output on the temperature controller. Seems to work well for me.

 

[_BullDog_]

If you don’t have one drill a drain hole at the bottom then you can just hose out when it gets dirty.

also get some damprid if you have moister problems. I keep a tub of it in my chest freezer fermenter to keep the moister down.

 

[franknbeans]

Wow.. sorry to sound harsh, but that is discusting. If I spill anything in mine, I soak it up with paper towels and wipe with a towel right then and there. Pride in your craft, man!

 

[Rudeoso]

WOW, that is some sight.
I get freaked out if a small spill occurs when changing out kegs, OCD kicks in and I start drying and cleaning my entire keezer. It's a lot easier to maintain an issue than to fix it. If you clean as it happens it will always be clean. My two cents.

 

[AlexKay]

Yeah, I had no idea it was like that, and was pretty grossed out. But for those in the "clean it right away" crowd ... there's a false bottom with 8 kegs on top of it, and everything needs to come out to get at anything on the floor. Is there a trick I'm missing?

 

[Deadalus]

Due to a low ceiling, a wide top, slightly underpowered gas struts and a high collar, cleaning is tricky. I had a small leak in my iron pipe tower which developed while I was still recuperating from shoulder surgery. I didn't see it right away. It was of course a black porter which developed into a black fungal mess. A lot of it dried up and some of it didn't. It leaked down the iron pipes, down the tubing, on the top of the freezer, the outside, and of course inside. It dripped on the regulator and completely soaked the air circulation fan. It was horrendous, it was about 8 months old. I had to disassemble the tower, soak everything, and then I replaced the tubing. Scrubbed the inside and outside and sanitized.

I soaked up what was wet with cloth rags and used a paint roller extension to move around the cloths and a green scrubby. Then I got a stool and hung over the edge to get to the bottom. It's a slow process. I clean it when a get a few spills normally. Let a keg or two kick and then there's some room to work. When stuff starts to grow it's a lot harder to clean because more scrubbing is needed.

There are "mops" that are more like a stick with a sponge on the end. Might be something I will buy actually.

 

[day_trippr]

[...]there's a false bottom with 8 kegs on top of it, and everything needs to come out to get at anything on the floor. Is there a trick I'm missing?

What does "false bottom" mean in this case?

 

[AlexKay]

What does "false bottom" mean in this case?

A wood platform with holes in it that keeps the kegs off the floor and allows air to circulate underneath.

 

[day_trippr]

Umm (looks at that swamp picture again) ok...

Cheers!

 

[gello22]

I've only had a keezer for 1 year now cleaned 3 times due to loss like you, stupid picnic taps leaking or getting pinched in my case.

Luckily it is on rollers and only about 10ft from a floor drain and a hose coming off the water heater. Just a quick rinse and I'm good to go.